Sheet registering mechanism



Feb. 26, 1946.. R BELLUCHE 2,395,444

SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Filed May 31, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J an" a".

Feb. 26, 1946; BELLUCHE V 2,395,444

I SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Filed May 31, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Frank Efiyw/w Feb. 26, 1946. B E 2,395,444

- SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Filed ma 51, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet s 55 @H Mm F. R; BELLUCHE ,3

SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Filed May 31, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 registry PO-SI-IIIOI'I Inferval duriny which sheet is rereqisfered REE/b01 79 Patented Feb. 26, 1946 SHEET REGISTERING MECHANISM Frank R. Belluche, Racine, Wis, assignor to The Christensen Machine Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application May 31, 1943, Serial No. 489,176

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in sheet registering mechanism for printing presses and the like and has particular reference to means for reregistering sheets after they have been picked up by the receiving cylinder of the press which may be a transfer cylinder or an impression cylinder as in a flat bed press.

Sheets fed to a printing press or other like machine are front registered by thefeeder advancing them to the usual front guide. Thus, at the instant the sheets are presented to the cylinder they are in proper front registry. At that instant, however, the sheets are at rest while the cylinder is rotating, often at a high speed. Hence, when the grippers on the cylinder take hold of the sheet slippage is inevitable, due to the necessity of bringing the stationary sheet up to the cylinder speed.

The amount of this slippage is dependent upon the speed of the cylinder. If the cylinder speed is constant the extent of the slippage is uniform and thus its presence is not too serious. A uniform slippage can be compensated for, but any change in the cylinder speed alters the degree of slippage and results in faulty registry of the sheet.

This invention, therefore, has as its principal object the provision of means for effecting a reregistration of the sheet after it has been picked up by the transfer or receiving cylinder and while it is moving with the cylinder so that regardless of the extent or variation of the slippage, the sheet always occupies a predetermined position on the cylinder.

Inasmuch as the correction of the position of a sheet on the cylinder entails releasing it from the grippers, it is another object of this invention to provide means for momentarily reopening the grippers in time for reregistering means to function, and also to provide other mean for bolding the sheet on the cylinder during this interval.

modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure l isa fragmentary view of a mechanlsm embodying this invention and illustrating the same at an instant in the cycle directly after the sheet has been taken by the grippers;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating the grippers opened slightly and the sheet being reregistered;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2 showing the grippers closed again and the reregistering mechanism inoperative;

Figure 4 is a. fragmentary view similar to Figure 1 of a modified embodiment of this invention wherein a moving suction gripper takes hold of the sheet and advances it into engagement with a front registry face;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view also similar to Figure l of another modification of this invention;

Figures 6, '7 and 8illustrate still another form of this invention;

Figure 9 is a view diagrammatically illustrating the manner in which a sheet is properly registered by the front guide at the instant the grippers close down onto it: t

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 illustrating the occurrence of slippage which it is the purpose of this invention to correct; and

Figure 11 is a view diagrammatically illustrating the reopening of the grippers and indicating the interval in the cycle during which. the reregistration of the sheet is effected.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 4 designates the feed Another object of this invention is to provide several different ways of effecting the desired reregistration which involve either moving the sheet with respect to the cylinder into engagement with a front register face fixed on the cylinder or moving the register face into engagement with the front edge of the sheet and thereafter shifting the position of the sheet to a predetermined location at all times accurately defined.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate several complete examples of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best or transfer cylinder of a printing press or other machine intended to perform work on sheet material and which {constantly revolves to carry sheets into the machine as they arepresented thereto.

The sheets S may be advanced to the transfer cylinder 4 in any suitable manner. In conventional practice the sheets S are advanced by an automatic sheet conveyor until their front edges strike a front guide 5 which momentarily stops the advance of the sheets andfront registers them before presenting them to the transfer cylinder. Grippers 6 controlled by tumbler mechanism (not shown) and carried by the transfer cylinder 4 take hold of a sheet at rest at the front guide and advance it to the printing couple of th press. it

As diagrammaticallyillustrated in Figure 10 and as explained hereinbefore, during the operation of the conventional printing press or other similar machine the abrupt change of a sheet at rest at the front guide to a sheet moving at press speeds causes slippage .of the sheet in the bite 1 of the grippers to an extent depending upon the speed of the press.

The present invention overcomes the objectionsto this slippage, by restoring the sheets to a predetermined position on the cylinder regardless of the existence or extent of this slippage.

In carrying the invention into. practice two broad classes of apparatus may be employed. In the one case illustrated in the two embodiments of .the invention shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, the cylinder has a fixed abutment 1 providing a front registry face or'guide with which the front edge of the sheet is engaged by the operation of the reregistering mechanism.

In the other broad class of apparatus illustrated in Figures to 8, inclusive, the cylinder carried registry face 8 is movable with respect to the cylinder and the sheet on it, but the mechanism embodies means for positively and accurately defining a fixed position of the registry face after it has engaged the sheet to insure the sheet being in a predetermined position on the cylinder.

Considering first that form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, it will be noted that the abutment l which provides the front registry face is so positioned that the sheet taken by the grippers 6 is spaced a slight distance therefrom due to the slippage occurring at the instant the sheet is picked up.- At that instant, the front edge portion of the sheet directly overlies the lower jaw 9 of, an auxiliary gripper or gripping device indicated generally by the numeral I0.

This auxiliary gripping device may consist of a plurality of grippers extending across the cylinder and each comprising a lower jaw 9 and a movable upper jaw l I hingedly connected as at l2.

The entire auxiliary gripper assembly is movable with relation to the cylinder and is constrained to a given motion by guides l3 at opposite ends of the cylinder, only one of which is shown. The guides [3 may be in the form of box cams reccivingcam followers I4 and, as will be observed from a comparison of Figures 1, 2

and 3, so guide the motion of the gripper assembly asto have the same movea short distance along the path of the sheet and then inwardly or downwardly out of the path of the sheet.

The motion of the auxiliary gripper mechanism is cam produced. A stationary cam [5 at one end of the cylinder is engaged by a follower as the cylinder rotates. The follower I6 is on a lever I! connected to the gripper mechanism was at I8 and mounted on a fixed pivot IS. A spring l9 insures the follower l6 following the cam.

The opening and closing of the auxiliary grippers is controlled by another fixed cam with which ,a cam follower 2| engages. The cam follower 2| is carried on one arm of a bellcrank lever 22 having a fixed pivotal connection 23 with the cylinder and having it other arm 24 projecting into the path of a finger 25. The finger 25 has a fixed connection with the movable gripper l I, and a spring 26 biasing the movable gripper to its closed position insures engagement of the finger 25 with the lever arm 24.

In the position of the parts shown in Figur 1, the-main grippers 6 are closed and the-sheet has itsvfront edge spaced from the registry face of the abutment 1. During the next few degrees of cyl inder rotation the main grippers B are opened in the manner diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 11 and duringthis interval the cam follower 2| leaves the cam 20 allowing the auxiliary grippers to close onto the sheet.

' the bite with which the sheet is held in the auxiliary grippers permits overtravel of the auxiliary grippers beyond the point at which the front edge of the sheet engages the registry face of the abutment 1. The auxiliary gripper thus merely continues its advance and slips off the front edge of the sheet, and at that instant the main grippers reclose and hold the sheet in proper reregistered position on the cylinder.

In that embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figured the sheet is advanced into engagement with the registry face of the abutment I by a swinging suction member 27. This suction member is pivoted as atf28-to the cylinder and is biased to swing toward the abutment l by a spring 29..

The mouth 30 of the suction member swings in an arc tangent to the path of the'sheet advance so that a sheet gripped thereby will be properly advanced into engagement with the'abutment 1 under the control of a cam 3 I. The cam 3| pro- 7 vided with a depression into which a cam follower 32 carried by the suction member rides to release the suction member for sheet advancing move ment under the influence of its spring 23. 7 I It is, of course, understood that the application of suction is timed with the cam controlled motion of the suction member to come on at the right instant and to release after the main'grip'pers have reclosed and before the cam 3| swings the suction member back to its retracted position shown in dotted lines.

In this instance the suction member performs the dual function of advancing the sheet into en gagement with the abutment 1 and also holding it onto the cylinder duringthe interval the main grippers are open. I V e That embodiment of the invention illustrated in- Figure 5 fall into the second designated broad fines the registry position of the lever 33.

A positive driving connection is'alsoprovided between the actuator and the lever. This connection consists of an arm 38 which projects over the lever 33 to engagethesame and swingthe lever back to its inactive position "indicated 'in' dotted lines and defined by a fixed stop 39. "The motion of the actuator to return the lever-:in this manner is produced by aspring 40. i p 1 A cam follower M on the outer end of the actu ator is in position'to engage a stationary cam 42 and eifect'the functioning of the as the cylinder revolves. V v

During the interval the reregistering is efiected the main grippers are, of course, openand during this time the sheet is held'against displacement from the cylinder by a suction nozzle 43 which grips the sheet at a distance back from its front edge. The suction to this nozzle is controlled to come on just before the maingrippers open and to go off right after the main grippers reclose- While the embodiment a the mast-sacs mechanism 7 in Figures 6 to 8, inclusive, falls into the same class as that just described, in that the registry face is movable, in this case the proper registry position is defined by arresting forward motion of a combined. auxiliary gripper and registry member 44 at an accurately defined location.

The member 24 is pivoted as at 45 to the cylinder. At its outer end it has an auxiliary gripper comprising a lower jaw 45 and an upper jaw 41 hingedly connected at 4B and biased to closed position by a spring 45. A front registry face Ell extends across the bite of these jaws to engage the front edge of the sheet during operation. The movable gripper jaw 41 has an actuator arm 51 connected thereto and on the end of this arm is a cam follower 52 engageable with a cam 53 to control opening and closing of the auxiliary gripper.

.The combined auxiliary gripper and registry member 44 is swung On its pivot by an actuator 54 similar to the actuator shown in Figure 5. As in the manner described in connection with Figure 5, the actuator 54 is controlled by a stationary cam 55 to impositively swing the member 44 toward the front edge of the sheet and positively swing the member 44 in the opposite direction.

In this instance, however, the parts are soco-related that as the member 44 is swung toward the front edge of the sheet'being held by the main grippers, the jaws 45 and 41 are open to close down onto the sheet after the registry face 50 has engaged its front edge. At this point the main grippers open. This is the position of the parts shown in Figure 6.

During the next few degrees of cylinder travel the cam follower on the actuator 54 rides off the cam 55' (as shown in Figure '7), and the actuator impelled by its spring swings the member 44 in the direction of sheet advancepulling the sheet with it until an arm 56 on the lever member 44 engages a releasable latch 51.

The latch 51 consists of a bell crank lever pivoted at 58 and held in an active position defined by a fixed stop 59 by a spring 55.

As the arm 56 comes up against the latch 51 the advance of the sheet by the auxiliary grippers is arrestedalways at the proper positionand during the next instant the main grippers reclose and-the auxiliary grippers are opened by the cam follower 52 riding up onto the cam 53 as shown in Figure '7.

At this point the reregistering of the sheet has been completed and it requires merely the withdrawal of the reregistering mechanism from the path of the sheet. the latch 51 by a cam follower on the latch riding up onto the cam 55 as shown, in Figure 8.

It is, of course, to be understood that the reregistering mechanism in each of the several embodiments of the invention hereindescribed is arranged at least in duplicate with one such set of mechanism near each end of the cylinder and preferably adjustable as to its position lengthwise of the cylinder to accommodate sheets of different widths and maintain the same square on the cylinder as their reregistration is effected.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, that this invention provides an effective and simple manner of overcoming the objections inherent in all past receiving and transfer cylinders of printing presses resulting from the inevitable slippage of the sheet in the bite of thegrippers as the sheet is picked up and abruptly brought This occurs after release of' from a position of rest to the speed'of the rotating cylinder.

What I claim as my invention is: a

1. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers carried by the cylinder adapted to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after they have closed; and means on the cylinder for reregistering a sheet on the cylinder during the interval of momentary reopening of the grippers.

2. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet fed to the cylinder, on the cylinder; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after they have gripped a sheet; a registry face carried by the cylinder; and means for holding the sheet on the cylinder and effecting engagement of its front edge with the registry face during the interval of momentary opening of the grippers.

3. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder; an abutment fixed with respect to the cylinder and providing a front registry face; means for momentarily reopening the grippers to release the sheet after the sheet has been initially gripper and while it is moving with the cylinder; and other sheet gripping means for gripping'the sheet and moving the same into engagement with the registry face during the interval of momentary opening of the grippers.

4. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder; an abutment presenting a front registry face; means carried by the cylinder mounting the abutment for movement towards the front edge of a sheet on the cylinder; means fdr 50 moving the abutment to bring the same into engagement with the front edge of the sheet; means for accurately defining the limit of movement of the abutment toward the sheet t accurately define the front registry position; means for momentarily reopening the grippers to free the front edge of the sheet for engagement with the registry face; and means for hOIdil'lg' the sheet on the cylinder during the interval of momentary opening of the grippers.

5. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet fed to the cylinder, on the cylinder; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after they have gripped the sheet and while the sheet is moving with the cylinder; a front registry face carried by the cylinder; auxiliary sheet gripping means for holding the sheet during the momentary opening of the grippers; and means for actuating the auxiliary sheet gripping means to effect engagement of' the front edge of the sheet with the registry face for correcting possible faulty registration of the sheet.

6. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet fed to the cylinder; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after they have gripped the sheet and while it is moving with the cylinder; an abutment on the cylinder providing a registry face; auxiliary sheet gripping means for holding the sheet on the cylinder during the interval of momentary opening of the grippers; and cam controlled mechanism for advancing the auxiliary sheet gripping means to effect engagement of the front edge of the sheet with the registry face and thus correct possible faulty front registry of the sheet. a I r 7. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder adapted to grip a sheet presentedthereto; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after the sheet has been gripped thereby; a registry face carried by the cylinder; means on the cylinder for gripping the sheet and advancing the same during the interval the grippers are open to effect engageemnt of its front edge with the registry face for correcting possible faulty registration of the sheet; and means for retracting said gripping means to an inoperative position after the sheet has been properly registered.

1 8. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet fed to the cylinder; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after the sheet has been gripped thereby; an abutment fixed with respect to the cylinder and providing a .registry face to define the proper front registry position of the sheet; means for gripping the sheet and moving the same toward the abutment to effect engagement of the front edge of the sheet with the registry face during the interval the grippers are open; and means for subsequently moving said gripping means out of the path of the sheet.

9. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers carried by the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto,

can abutment presenting a front registry face;

means movably mounting the abutment on the cylinder; means operable to bring the front registry face of the abutment into engagement with the front edge of the sheet; a stop carried by the cylinder for accurately defining the limit of movement of the abutment toward the sheet; means for momentarily reopening the grippers to free the front edge thereof for engagement with the registry face; and gripping mean for holding the sheet on the cylinder during the interval of momentary opening of the grippers.

10. In a'sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers carried by the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto; an abutment fixed on'the cylinder and providing a front registry face; auxiliary grippers carried by the cylinder; means movably mounting said auxiliary grippers on the cylinder; means forconstraining the motion of said auxiliary grippers to a path which follows the path of the sheet for a distance and then turns inwardly away from the path of the sheet; cam means for actuating the auxiliary grippers and for controlling opening and closing thereof so that the auxiliary grippers grasp a sheet on the cylinder to advance it into,

engagement with the front registry face; and means for momentarily reopening the main grippers during the interval the sheet is being advanced by the auxiliary grippers. 7

11. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: grippers carried, by the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto; an abutment fixed with respect to the cylinder and providing a front registry face on the cylinengagement with the front registry face; and means for momentarily reopening the main grippers during the time the sheet is being advanced by said auxiliary suction gripper.

12. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: ,grippers carried by the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto, on the cylinder; a front registry member movably mounted on the cylinder and having apart thereof providing a front registry face; cam controlled means for moving said member to bring the registry face against the front edge of the sheet while it is held on the cylinder and moving therewith; means for accurately defining the limit of said movement of the registry member; means for momentarily reopening the grippers to free the front edge of the sheet at the time it is engaged by said registry member; and suction means on the cylinder for holding the sheet thereto at a point spaced from its front edge during the interval the grippers are momentarily open so that firm'engagement between the registry memher and the front edge of the sheet is assured.

13. Means for correcting possible faulty front registering of a sheet on a cylinder of a printing press'or the like while the sheetis moving with the cylinder, comprising: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto on the cylinder; cam means rendered effective by rotation of the cylinder for momentarily reopening the grippers to release the front edge of the sheet while the sheet is traveling with the cylinder; means for holding the sheet to the cylinder during the interval the grippers are reopened; a front registry face carried by the cylinder; and cam controlled means rendered operative by rotation f the cylinder for bringing said front registry face and the front edge of the sheet into engagement, said cam controlled means being so timed with relation to the cam means for momentarily reopening the grippers that the said engagement between the front registry face and thefront edge of the face takes place during the interval the grippers are reopened. V I r 14. In a sheet carrying cylinder for printing 7 presses and the like: grippers on the cylinder to grip and hold a sheet presented thereto on the cylinder; a front registry face carried by the cylinder; means for momentarily reopening the grippers after they have closed on the sheet; other means for holding the sheet on the cylinder during the interval the grippers are momentarily open; and means for eifectingengagement of the front edge of the'sheet with said front registry face during the interval the grippers are open and while the sheet is being advanced by the cylinder to thus correct possible faulty registration of the sheet.

15. In a rotatable sheet carrying cylinder for printing presses and the like: sheet holding means on the cylinder for holding a sheet presented thereto on the cylinder; a front registry guide carried by the cylinder; means for effecting mo mentary release of the sheet from said sheet holding means after said holding means has gripped the sheet and the sheet has started mOVing, with the cylinder; other means for holding the sheet on the cylinder during the interval-the sheet is not held .by said first designated sheet holding means;

istered while it is being advanced by the cylinder.

' FRANK R. BELLUCHE;- 

